In a first, U.S. House recognizes rights of states on medical pot

WASHINGTON &GT;&GT; With an unprecedented early-morning vote, Congress on Friday, for the first time, recognized states' right to set their own marijuana policies.

The vote does not represent a change in law — yet. But Rep. San Farr, D-Carmel, and several colleagues were able to amend a spending bill to prevent the federal government from cracking down on medical marijuana patients and distributors who are in compliance with state medical marijuana laws.

"It was a surprise vote, it was a welcome vote," Farr said. "It's been 10 years in the making and I think it demonstrated that Congress is beginning to notice that the states and the local governments in this country are the Democracy, are the laboratories of democracy."

Farr and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, have co-authored similar amendments through the years. But without the votes to push them through, the efforts were largely symbolic.

That changed with Friday's 219-189 vote, making the House of Representatives the first body of Congress to recognize medical marijuana. The difference was a shift on the Republican side, with 49 GOP members joining 170 Democrats, a much higher GOP total that in the past.

"The Democrats have been pretty steady in this over the years, so it really was with this new Republican surge that we were able to go over the top," Farr said.

In a statement, Rohrabacher praised his colleagues and called the vote a turning point.

"This is historic," Rohrabacher said. "A victory for states' rights, for the doctor-patient relationship, for compassion, for fiscal responsibility. This vote shows that House members really can listen to the American people, form coalitions, and get things done."

Rep. Steve Cohen, R-Tenn., said past pot votes have been debated with scare tactics, but that a new breed of Republicans is arriving at the House, some of them libertarians but also some from a new generation.

"Younger people that have been exposed to (and) seen marijuana, know people who smoke marijuana, know people who have benefitted from its medicinal qualities and/or have seen people who smoke it recreationally on the weekends and then get up and go to work and run businesses and lead communities and are productive citizens," Cohen said. "I think it was just a great vote in Congress, and the times they are a-changin.'"

The amendment had 12 sponsors, split equally between Republicans and Democrats. Besides Farr and Rohrabacher, two other California members, Republican Tom McClintock and Democrat Barbara Lee, threw their names behind the vote.

Lee, of Oakland, said the vote recognizes the suffering of people with HIV, glaucoma, cancer and other diseases for which marijuana is commonly used.

"People deserve better, and I think what took place last night really is a signal (that) we value people's lives and their health and well-being," Lee said.

The Appropriations bill would have to be approved by the Senate and signed by Obama to become law, and even if that happens the duration of the bill is just one year.

"It doesn't change any laws that are on the street or on the books. It just says the DEA, the Drug Enforcement Agency, cannot go and bust those patients and doctors that support this and are in states that have already legalized it," Farr said.

One rallying point has been the case of several Washington medical marijuana users facing federal prosecution — and long prison sentences — in a state where voters approved recreational pot use.

Advocates for easing the nation's drug laws said the vote could be a tipping point for sweeping changes. Federal regulators also recently said they would dramatically lift production limits on marijuana to meet increasing research demands.

"The amendments serve as the first steps in reframing our U.S. drug policy from a criminal justice framework to a public health framework where it belongs, so we definitely look forward to the Senate picking this up and carrying it across the line," said Dr. Malik Burnett, a policy manager for Washington, D.C.-based Drug Policy Alliance.